Mexico City 2018

It's been two months and I'm still thinking about my trip to Mexico. It was full of surprises and adventures, and I took so many photos that I need to split them into two posts.

I spent my first week in Mexico City; I could have honestly stayed another week because there was so much to see, do and eat. I coincided my trip with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) and the festivities were underway. Marigolds were sold everywhere, especially at the markets, because they are believed to guide the souls of the dead to the ofrendas (altars) lovingly decorated by family members.

Did you know that Mexico City has more than 150 museums? I visited two during my stay, barely put a dent in it. I missed some must-sees due to ill-timing on my part, but my favourite way to explore the city was to wander.

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Sneak Peak: Mexico

I've been itching to visit Mexico for ages and I finally made it happen this year. I had such an amazing time that I wonder why more people don't visit (all-inclusive resorts not included).

Unfortunately I succumbed to a really bad cold near the end of my trip and I'm still recovering from it. Photographic evidence of my adventures to come.

Maple Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa

Move over, peaches and tomatoes, we're deep into apples and squash season.

I'm a huge fan of delicata squash because the skin is edible, hence no peeling required for people who are lazy like me. I wish they were more readily available at grocery stores.

Roasting squash is my go-to technique, as the squash gets caramelized in the oven. I love tossing grains right onto the baking sheet of the roasted vegetable because it takes on the flavour of the caramelized squash.

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Pasta with Eggplant Puree

I've spent the last month or two doing very little cooking and have mostly been gorging myself on grilled corn and caprese salad. Is there anything better then tomatoes and corn at the height of summer?

However, this means that other in-season vegetables are woefully being ignored. In attempt to add more variety to my diet, I picked up an eggplant at the market.

I'm still a novice when it comes to cooking eggplant but it always turns out lovely when roasted. This particular eggplant was roasted with cherry tomatoes, then blended together to make a sauce. Because there's a high ratio of eggplant to tomato, the eggplant is the star of the dish.

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Peach Shortbread

'Tis peach season. Is there anything better than a ripe peach, so fragrant and juicy that you have to eat it over the kitchen sink?

I purchased a 10 litre basket of peaches to make jars of jam. Fortunately, I had leftover peaches: some were eaten as is, others stirred into yoghurt, and I even made a peach caprese salad.

As I'm often inspired to make dessert with in-season fruits (I made a killer strawberry ice cream last month), I started searching and came across this peach shortbread recipe.

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Classic Strawberry Preserves

My first foray into canning began many summers ago. I used to make huge batches of applesauce to freeze but received complaints that I was hogging up the limited space in the freezer.

The initial research into canning was overwhelming: so many equipments to use! The fear of botulism if everything is not heated and sealed properly!

Most of the recipes I encountered used large quantities of sugar (i.e. a 1:1 cup ratio of fruit to sugar), which, no thank you. I want to be able to distinguish the fruits that I'm preserving rather than eating spoonfuls of sugar.

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Indian Rice Pudding (Kheer/Payasam)

I'm a latecomer to rice pudding but have been making up for lost time. Real talk: I have purchased Costco-amounts of Kozy Shack rice pudding for myself (and only myself) to consume. I like to stir in some cinnamon and cardamon before digging in.

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Black Sesame Ice Cream

This was my first attempt at homemade ice cream and it was easier than I thought it would be. Not sure how good this will be for my waistline though.

I'm kind of obsessed with black sesame and am often disappointed at the lack of flavour in black sesame desserts, purchased or otherwise, but this hit the mark. I might even amp up the black sesame paste next time to really let the nuttiness shine through.

Jam Hand Pies

Hand pies are for crust lovers. If you enjoy the flaky, buttery crust of a pie more than the filling, then hand pies are for you.

They're also conveniently portable. Have you tried lugging a pie dish on public transportation, dodging people on the sidewalk so you can bring a pie to work to share with co-workers? It's not fun. Hand pies can easily fit into a container and thrown into a bag without worrying about spillage.

And if you're into the cute factor, they're tiny and bite-sized.

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Pasta with Cauliflower Pesto

It's that time of the year where I'm feeling uninspired, cooking-wise. I'm eagerly waiting for winter to end, for the first availability of asparagus and rhubarb because that's when I know spring has finally arrived.

For now, I'm resorting to my old standby meals, the ones I've made countless of times and know they will come out delicious with minimal effort involved.

This recipe comes from Deb's first cookbook, which is full of gems. You start off by pulsing cauliflower in a food processor (before cauliflower rice became a thing), process the rest of the ingredients to make a pesto, then toss everything together with some pasta. The food processor does all the work and you end up with a tasty meal.

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Chocolate Pudding

Another chocolate recipe, you ask? I personally believe that you can never have too many chocolate recipes, especially in February.

Chocolate pudding is easier to make than you think. The benefit of the homemade version is that it is more chocolaty than what you would get at the grocery store. It does require a bit of patience as you wait for the mixture to boil and thicken up, but it will get there so don't lose hope. Your perseverance will be rewarded.

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World Peace Cookies

For Christmas last year, a friend asked a group of us if we wanted to participate in a cookie exchange. An abundance of baked goods to share and consume? Of course I was in.

She asked each of us to bake a different type of cookie, which sent me down a rabbit hole trying to decide what to make. I associate shortbread with the holidays and prefer them over a sugar cookie, but wanted to add a little oomph to a plain shortbread.

The conclusion: a chocolate shortbread.

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